Samuel L Collins’ series is designed for families (especially boys, I think), obviously modelled off the idea of Indiana Jones and the idea of making learning Bible Truths into an adventure quest.

When the box arrived with our videos, I showed them to the boys and thought that we would wait to watch them on the weekend. The kids, apparently, had other ideas and before I knew it – the 4 of us were snuggled on the couch eagerly starting the video.

In this first video, Samuel is a secret agent and his family are called to Singapore, where Samuel finds some money dropped by a lady walking down the street and then is sent on a mission to learn more about integrity and treasures.

What I really liked about this movie is that although the title would lead you to believe that Samuel is the only one on the adventure – it actually is a whole family activity. His sister, Katie, is an active part of the search and helps Samuel complete his challenges. I like that it takes something as simple as a Bible verse and makes it exciting and special. The special digital effects were really well-done.

The boys were thrilled by Samuel’s “cool” gadget watch, and as the story progressed, were eager to participate in the challenges of deciphering codes. Samuel has to use his GPS to find the geobox, an activity that we love doing too – geocaching (aka “Treasure Hunting”).

It was a nice treat to have a live-action movie for Christian values that my kids would sit through and enjoy! We are going to watch it a few more times this week, I’m sure!

Many of my friends wish they could tag along on my adventures around the world….

Hey, wait for me???

and I must admit it’s amazing to travel to the places I’ve been, but Geocaching is a great adventure of it’s own. And it happens in every corner of the world, so even if the nearest State Park is the farthest from home you’ll ever get, you too CAN have your own FAMILY ADVENTURE….

So, in honor of SUMMER and VACATIONS, I’m going to write a series of blog posts that describe the “how-to’s” and “Joys” of GEOCACHING…

Geocaching: What is it? (part 1)

So, what is this family-fun activity? It’s part ‘treasure-hunting’ part ‘scavenger hunting’ and part ‘hiking’.

Doesn’t geocaching look fun?

Small and large ‘treasure boxes’ called CACHES or GEOCACHES

Geocaching containers come in a variety of sizes and shapes

are hidden ALL over the world. Yes, that’s right ALL over the world (over 100 countries including America), which means that no matter where YOU live- there’s probably a CACHE near you. 🙂

How many ‘treasure boxes’ are located around the world? Around 2 MILLION. Wow, that’s quite a LOT of treasure to go find!

Not like the pirates….

But the difference is we’re not PIRATES…. and we use modern technology!

How do we find the Treasure?

Modern technology has allowed us to move beyond paper and pen (thank goodness) and today’s Treasures are monitored by latitude and longitude in the world of Geopositioning technology (think Satellites in outer space beaming around information…).

Hey, this way to the TREASURE BOX!

Each GPS (just like the one your mom uses in the car to find the grocery store) is a latitude/longitude mapping program that allows us to move from one location (home) to the next (the TREASURE box or cache)!

If we put in our home coordinates, we can use this technology to find ALL the CACHES in our area! It really is that simple. The GPS guides us to the CACHE and we scoop up all the loot! Well, not really, but we’ll cover geocaching rules later.

So, are you interested? I sure hope so. Come back next Tuesday and we’ll cover Part 2: Getting Started. I’ll cover topics such as:

Mom left the room and banished me to my room to think about things. I glanced over to Katie sitting in shock and awe realizing that Mom had thrown away my life.

Yes, my life!

My music, my games, my entertainment, my GPS, my dictionary, books I was reading on it and more! My life! I sat wondering how this all went so wrong. Mom mentioned something about my attitude and that if I couldn’t throw it away easily, it might be an idol.

An IDOL?

“Surely not” I thought to myself, but i was devastated by what Mom had done. It didn’t seem fair and I felt crushed. In fact I was down right MAD at her.

“How dare her throw away my object?

“She doesn’t have the right!”

“I’m going to talk to Dad when he gets home from his business trip.”

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do! And for a brief moment I felt better… but suddenly it dawned on me that Dad wouldn’t be back for at least three more days…. and sometime in there the garbage would be taken to the street.

Noooooooooooooo! This is just not fair!

My mind continued to return to what my Mom had said. “Sam, if you can’t easily throw that object away it just might be an IDOL in your life.”

I spent the afternoon distracting myself with Legos. I turned on my CD player and listened to music convinced that Mom was wrong and I was RIGHT, but I still hadn’t come up with a plan to rescue my Ipod, and the garbage can was getting fuller and fuller every hour.

As soon as I was engaged in an activity, my mind wandered back again to my Mom’s statement, “Sam, if you can’t easily throw that object away it just might be an IDOL in your life.”

An IDOL? Not the kind that sings on the American Idol show, but the kind where you bow down and worship. Like this guy…

An IDOL! An IDOL? an idol.

As I sat on the edge of the bed and I had to admit, for the first time, that I did worship my Ipod Touch.

I did think the world of it.

I did honor it with all my spare time.

And, more importantly, I was attached to it, probably way more than I should have been.

If I honestly looked at the situation I do worship my Ipod!

Staring at the floor I gently closed my eyes and prayed. I was wrong and I asked God to forgive me for placing an item above my relationship with Him, my mother, my sister and my schoolwork.

I found Mom and asked if we could talk and I shared my feelings. When Mom and Dad bought me the Ipod Touch I felt invincible. I thought I had my parents wrapped around my finger and that I could do or say anything I wanted. I thought too highly of myself, and I thought too highly of my Ipod Touch. I realized that I had plugged myself in to a world of never-ending news, music, and entertainment. I apologized and told Mom that I was glad she got my attention for I felt lost, but free…

I want to worship only one thing- God!

Signing off,

Sam

P.S. Our Bali episode is about Idols. Do your children know the truth about idols: find out here….

Many of my friends wish they could tag along on my adventures around the world….

Hey, wait for me???

and I must admit it’s amazing to travel to the places I’ve been, but Geocaching is a great adventure of it’s own. And it happens in every corner of the world, so even if the nearest State Park is the farthest from home you’ll ever get, you too CAN have your own FAMILY ADVENTURE….

So, in honor of SUMMER and VACATIONS, I’m going to write a series of blog posts that describe the “how-to’s” and “Joys” of GEOCACHING…

Geocaching: What is it? (part 1)

So, what is this family-fun activity? It’s part ‘treasure-hunting’ part ‘scavenger hunting’ and part ‘hiking’.

Doesn’t geocaching look fun?

Small and large ‘treasure boxes’ called CACHES or GEOCACHES

Geocaching containers come in a variety of sizes and shapes

are hidden ALL over the world. Yes, that’s right ALL over the world (over 100 countries including America), which means that no matter where YOU live- there’s probably a CACHE near you. 🙂

How many ‘treasure boxes’ are located around the world? Around 2 MILLION. Wow, that’s quite a LOT of treasure to go find!

Not like the pirates….

But the difference is we’re not PIRATES…. and we use modern technology!

How do we find the Treasure?

Modern technology has allowed us to move beyond paper and pen (thank goodness) and today’s Treasures are monitored by latitude and longitude in the world of Geopositioning technology (think Satellites in outer space beaming around information…).

Hey, this way to the TREASURE BOX!

Each GPS (just like the one your mom uses in the car to find the grocery store) is a latitude/longitude mapping program that allows us to move from one location (home) to the next (the TREASURE box or cache)!

If we put in our home coordinates, we can use this technology to find ALL the CACHES in our area! It really is that simple. The GPS guides us to the CACHE and we scoop up all the loot! Well, not really, but we’ll cover geocaching rules later.

So, are you interested? I sure hope so. Come back next Tuesday and we’ll cover Part 2: Getting Started. I’ll cover topics such as:

Wow we just finished the Bali episode and now we are close to finishing the Kentucky episode. This weekend I shot my interview segments. I also shot several promotional spots for the NRB Network. 1 month from today we are on the air. If you have Direct-TV make sure you know what channel NRB Network is on.

I saw the final version of the Bali show, it looks great! You guys are going to love it. Watch out for Mikey! Not only did we finish Bali and send it out to duplication, but we also finished the rough cut of the Kentucky show we shot at the Creation Museum. It’s the best show yet!!!! There are some serious surprises coming in the Kentucky show.